COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State wide receiver Brandon Inniss had a revelation on the second day of fall camp during a competitive team period.
The slot receiver lined up ready to attack a defense under new leadership in defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and a bevy of new players stepping into bigger roles. Across from him was one of the three returning starters on defense, who for that moment ruined the optimistic vibe in Inniss’ head.
Inniss lined up, thinking the offense was about to run a play that the defense wouldn’t be prepared for, let alone stop. Then Caleb Downs started talking.
“I can’t say what happened, but he called out the play and I’m like, ‘D***,’ it’s not gonna work,” Inniss said. “He’s very smart. Very, very smart. …He’s unbelievably smart. He’s literally a defensive coordinator on the field.”
Downs might actually be a football savant.
His athletic ability might’ve been what once made him a five-star recruit in the 2023 class. It’s also what helped him quickly become one of the nation’s best safeties during his only year in Alabama, then build on that success when he transferred to Ohio State. But that mind is why he might be the nation’s unquestioned best defensive player, with the only player in general considered to be better than him being his teammate Jeremiah Smith.
That mind is what allowed the Buckeyes to completely revamp their defense last season after giving up 32 points to Oregon in the regular season. It forced then-defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to rethink his approach, making sure Downs was at the nucleus of everything going on.
The result was a national title in 2024.
Now that mind is again the centerpiece as Patricia builds up a new defense in 2025. It’s sparking a new idea made possible both by his intellect and the development of the safeties behind him.
“Creating jobs for guys is really important to give themselves an opportunity to go learn and put themselves on the field,” Patricia said. “Caleb is such a versatile player that now you can do that. You can move him into some different spots to give those guys a chance to get on the field in those roles.”
Downs’ position title of ‘Free Safety’ has never really done justice to his actual job description, regardless of which school he’s been at.
At Alabama in 2023, he played 890 total snaps in 14 games. By position, he spent 287 of those snaps lined up at free safety, 285 lined up in the box and 268 in the slot.
At Ohio State in 2024, he played 917 total snaps in 16 games. By position, he spent 393 of those snaps lined up at free safety, 339 lined up in the box and 160 in the slot.
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The Buckeyes didn’t need him in the slot as often as the Crimson Tide did because they had Jordan Hancock to man that role, while Downs and Ransom often had interchangeable roles at the two safety spots. But Hancock and Ransom are now gone, opening the door to explore other options while also maximizing the guys who are replacing them.
Playing Downs at nickel more in 2025 makes more sense, especially if you think Malik Hartford and Jaylen McClain are game-ready. And the more ready they are, the more creative you can be with Downs.
“That room is really working and I feel like there’s some good young guys there that have an opportunity to step up and contribute,” Patricia said. “So having that piece and moving that around for us to be able to evaluate those guys to see if we can, throughout the course of the season do that.”
Hartford and McClain can be your traditional safeties with the typical job descriptions. Downs can play ‘Caleb Downs,’ meaning do whatever’s necessary to make plays on Saturdays. He’s got both the athletic profile and, more importantly, the mind to do it.
With that comes the mind games he can play with offenses by showing one thing pre-snap while doing something completely different post-snap.
That’s the type of thing Patricia is building into a defense centered around Downs, so much so that there are calls built into everything he’s doing to make sure that his freelancing only confuses opponents.
“His ability, whether it’s nickel, safety or maybe he’s just lined up in some different areas, is his communication,” Patricia said. “He’s such a good communicator. We have words that settle everything down. Even though I might be lined up in something that may look like a certain position, it may not be that position. That communication tells everyone what it is, and that’s critical. Otherwise, everyone’s like, ‘Where are we going and how does this all fit?’ His ability to do that is what makes this all go.”
Ohio State left that Oregon loss last season, understanding that it needed to do more to make sure Downs was involved in every play possible. That change eventually ended in a national title.
This season, it doesn’t need a loss to tell them something so obvious. The philosophy is the foundation of a 2025 defense featuring so many new faces.
Two different teams have now seen the benefit of making sure this approach is applied. Nothing but good things can happen when it’s done.
Plus, it leads to comical moments on a football field, when a slot receiver realizes how quickly that mind is capable of sniffing out a playcall that you thought he’d never see coming.
“He’s unbelievably smart,” Inniss said. He’s literally a defensive coordinator on the field.”
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